The present invention relates to an installation for treating substances of the type comprising:
receptacles for the substances to be treated;
a plurality of workstations for implementing treatment operations on the substances;
at least one support for at least one receptacle, which support is movable relative to the workstations; and
a system for tracing the operations to which the substances are subjected, the system comprising a unit for storing data and communications means for communicating information between the receptacles, the workstations, and the storage units to store and associate therein data relating to the substances and the workstations in which they are placed.
The invention applies in particular to treating biological samples or materials, and in particular to culturing, conserving, and/or analyzing cells or microorganisms.
In such an application, an installation of the above-specified type serves not only to treat the substances, but also to provide traceability of the treated substances by associating them with information relating to their identities and to the workstations in which they have been placed, and thus to the treatment operations to which they have been subjected.
An installation of the above-specified type is known in which the communications means comprise bar codes provided on the receptacles and portable bar-code readers each associated with a workstation and connected via a wire connection to the storage unit. When a sample or substance contained in a receptacle is to be subjected to a treatment operation in a workstation, an operator brings the corresponding reader close to the receptacle in order to read the bar code thereon. The identification information or identifier encoded in the bar code is then transmitted to the storage unit where it is associated with an identifier for the workstation.
In that installation, reading the identifier of a substance requires a manual operation, which can be awkward given the large number of substances which an operator may need to treat in such an installation. Furthermore, that installation does not guarantee reliable traceability of the substances since there is nothing to prevent an operator forgetting to read the bar code of a receptacle.
Document WO 0033/005 also discloses a thermostatic enclosure provided with a data storage and communications unit for exchanging information with a radio frequency (RF) identification transponder carried by a receptacle, whenever a receptacle is inserted into the enclosure. The data storage and communications unit comprises a computer, data storage means, a radio-wave transceiver, an antenna, and self-contained electrical power supply means for the transceiver. Modifying an existing enclosure to enable it to incorporate such a unit turns out to be particularly expensive.
An object of the invention is to solve these problems by providing an installation of the above-specified type that makes it possible to provide traceability for the substances treated therein in a manner that is reliable and economic.
To this end, the invention provides an installation of the above-specified type, wherein the communications means comprise:
for each receptacle, radio-wave transmitter means to supply information identifying the substance contained in the receptacle;
for each workstation, radio-wave transmitter means to supply information identifying the workstation; and
for each support, both radio-wave receiver means to receive information transmitted by the transmitter means of the receptacles carried by the support and of the workstations in which or near which the support is located, and also at least one forwarding device for forwarding information received by the receiver means to the data storage unit.
In particular embodiments, the installation can comprise one or more of the following characteristics taken in isolation or in any technically feasible combination:
the forwarding device of the support is a device for forwarding information identifying the support to the information storage unit;
the receiver means of the support is adapted automatically to cause the transmitter means of the receptacles carried by the support and of the workstations in or near which the support is placed to transmit information;
the receiver means of the support is adapted regularly in time to cause the transmitter means of the receptacles carried by the support and by the workstations in or near which the support is placed to transmit information;
for each support the forwarding device comprises means for transmitting radio waves;
the frequency of the waves transmitted by the transmitter means of the forwarding device is different from the frequency of the waves transmitted by the transmitter means of the workstations and of the receptacles;
for each support, the forwarding device comprises a connector, and at least one workstation includes a complementary connector connected via a wire connection to outside the workstation to forward information received by the receiver means of the support in question to the data storage unit;
said or each wire connection connects the complementary connector to the data storage unit;
at least one workstation includes at least one acquisition means for acquiring a parameter relating to the implementation of the corresponding treatment operations, and also a forwarding device for forwarding this parameter to the data storage unit for association with the information relating to the substances treated in the workstation;
the device for forwarding the parameter to the data storage unit comprises a wire connection connecting the or each acquisition means to the data storage unit;
the device for forwarding the parameter to the data storage unit comprises the workstation radio-wave transmitter means, the acquisition means being electrically connected to said transmitter means to supply the parameter to the data storage unit via the radio-wave receiver means and the information-forwarding device of a support located close to or within the workstation;
the radio-wave transmitter means of the receptacles and of the workstations have transmitter powers of less than 10 milliwatts (mW);
the transmitter means of the workstations and of the receptacles are passive, and the radio-wave receiver means of the support also constitute means for transmitting waves for powering the transmitter means of the workstations and of the receptacles.
The invention also provides a workstation for an installation as defined above.
In particular embodiments:
its radio-wave transmitter means have a transmission power of less than 10 mW;
the radio-wave transmitter means is passive; and
it includes a connector for connection to a complementary connector of a forwarding device of a moving support for receptacles, said connector being connected to the outside of the workstation by a wire connection for forwarding information received by the receiver means of the support to a data storage unit.
The invention also provides a moving support for receptacles of substances to be treated, the support being for use in an installation as defined above.
In particular embodiments:
the forwarding device of the support is a device for forwarding information identifying the support to the information storage unit of the installation;
the receiver means of the support is adapted automatically to cause the transmitter means of the receptacles carried by the support and of the workstations in which or near which the support is placed to transmit information;
the receiver means of the support is adapted at regular time intervals to cause the transmitter means of the receptacles carried by the support and of the workstations in which or near which the support is placed to transmit information;
the information-forwarding device comprises radio-wave transmitter means distinct from the radio-wave receiver means;
the radio-wave transmitter means and the radio-wave receiver means are tuned to different frequencies;
its information-forwarding device comprises a connector for connection to a complementary connector of a workstation, said complementary connector being connected to the outside of the workstation by a wire connection for forwarding the information received by the receiver means of the support to the data storage unit; and
the radio-wave receiver means also constitute radio-wave transmitter means for powering the transmitter means of the workstation.